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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25615657">Turning and Turning in the Widening Gyre</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairyScorpicus/pseuds/fairyScorpicus'>fairyScorpicus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Things Fall Apart [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Markiplier TV (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF, Who Killed Markiplier? (Web Series), markiplier - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>??? - Freeform, First Dates, Fluff and Angst, I'm not sure how to tag this, Kidnapping, Mark Fischbach Egos, Prequel, Unreliable Narrator, ish</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:19:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,327</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25615657</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairyScorpicus/pseuds/fairyScorpicus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"It was a lovely date," Wilford grinned at Dark as they walked to the manor. Dark dipped his hand into his pocket for the keys as they approached the door, then paused, tensing.</p><p>The door was gone. Wilford nudged the broken pieces of wood on the floor with his shoe, idly wondering where it came from.</p><p>"Wilford," Dark said sharply. "I need your gun."</p><p> </p><p>Or: Where Dark and Wilford were the night Actor attacked the manor./Prequel to The Second Coming</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Damien | The Mayor/Wilford Warfstache | William J. Barnum | The Colonel, Darkiplier / Wilford Warfstache</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Things Fall Apart [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1783681</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Turning and Turning in the Widening Gyre</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was promising to be a fine evening. Wilford held up his napkin, folding into the shape of a bow while Dark chuckled.</p><p>"I can't pay the rent!" He proclaimed in an exaggerated falsetto, drawing the attention of people dining nearby. He continued his act, uncaring of the audience. He had bigger turnups at his show, he thought to himself. He folded the napkin in a sad imitation of a mustache in front of his real, far bushier mustache and finished off the show. He bowed dramatically.</p><p>Dark grinned as he finished paying the check.</p><p>"Alright, comedian, let's go for a walk," he said, standing up, and Wilford followed.</p><p>The night was perfect: not too hot, not too cold. Wilford adjusted his suspenders as silence fell between the two.</p><p>"I hope," Dark said suddenly, looking over, "that you are having a good time?"</p><p>"The goodest," Wilford smiled. Dark smiled back.</p><p>"So I can call this date a success?"</p><p>Wilford stopped.</p><p>"This was a date?!"</p><p>Dark paused as well. "Y...yes? We went out and ate dinner at a fancy restaurant together and I brought flowers?"</p><p>"I think I ate those flowers," Wilford said thoughtfully, mind still focused on the fact he had been on a date. Why, he hadn't acted like half the gentleman he would've been if he knew he was on a date. "Bim dared me to."</p><p>"You..." Dark said slowly, voice dropping in lower registers. "You ATE... the flowers... that I gave you... in the TWO minutes it took for you to go to the other room and put on shoes?"</p><p>"Yeah," Wilford confirmed, scratching his elbow. The itch had been bugging him. It seemed no amount of scratching would completely satisfy the itch. He should put some lotion on when he got home. "Bim dared me to," he repeated. He tried to recall what the flowers looked like and failed.</p><p>Dark covered his hands with his face and made a strange noise, like the noise his cameramen made when he repeatedly stabbed someone on stage.</p><p>"I wish I had known this was a date," Wilford sighed. "I'm afraid this evening isn't going as well as I expected."</p><p>"No, no," Dark said quickly, lowering his hands. "It doesn't have to be over yet. We can walk home and watch a movie and tell the other egos to leave us alone."</p><p>Wilford brightened up. "That sounds fantastic!" He grabbed Dark's hand and walked forward, humming and swinging Dark's hand.</p><p>"What movie should we watch?" Dark asked.</p><p>"Horror or romance," Wilford said. "I've heard the romance, Love Too Soon, is really good. But I haven't seen the horror. It's called the Dark Mark."</p><p>Dark made a strange noise. Wilford decided to ignore it. Dark had been making lots of funny noises tonight.</p><p>"I think the horror will be nice," Wilford continued, and Dark made the kind of sigh that he only made for Wilford, which wasn't quite the Knock-It-Off-Host Sigh or the Erik-Is-Being-Adorable Sigh but somewhere in between.</p><p>"Horror doesn't really fit the theme of the date," Dark argued as they turned onto their street.</p><p>"Are you so sure about that?" Wilford teased, gesturing at Dark playfully. Dark stuck his tongue out in response, a childish act so rare on the serious ego that Wilford laughed in delight.</p><p>"Our next date should be someone fun," Wilford decided. "Like Chuck E Cheese, or Freddy Fazbear's Pizza."</p><p>"No," Dark said immediately. "Absolutely not."</p><p>Then he paused, processing Wilford's previous statement.</p><p>"A second date?" Dark straightened his back. "So you enjoyed it?" He sounded hopeful.</p><p>"It was a lovely date," Wilford grinned at Dark as they walked to the manor. Dark dipped his hand into his pocket for the keys as they approached the door, then paused, tensing.</p><p>The door was gone. Wilford nudged the broken pieces of wood on the floor with his shoe, idly wondering where it came from.</p><p>"Wilford," Dark said sharply. "I need your gun."</p><p>"Which one?" Wilford waggled his eyebrows, and Dark shot him with such a look of... something not happy, that Wilford sighed and pulled out the larger of the two guns he had on his person and handed it to Dark. He whipped out his tiny golden pistol just in case.</p><p>"What?" He asked as Dark looked at him. "Why would I go somewhere without my backup gun?" Dark chose not to reply, stepping past the debris into the house.</p><p>It was dark, silent, and empty.</p><p>"Where is everyone?" Wilford asked. "I mean, if I were to trash the mansion, I would know better to run. And if they all ran, then they're all guilty."</p><p>"Wilford," Dark hissed, aura flashing dangerously. Wilford blinked as his ears rang slightly. He glanced around, trying to find the source of the noise, but couldn't. He watched as Dark closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and grabbed Wilford's shoulders.</p><p>"Wilford," he said slowly and clearly. "We need to stay quiet. Someone has broken into the mansion and we can't find any of the egos. Our <em>family</em>," he stressed, grip tightening. "This is serious. Can you follow me and do as I say?"</p><p>"Fine," Wilford said. "But if this is a prank or elaborate roleplaying effort then I want my gun back." The ringing in his ears spiked for a moment before settling. Dark let go of Wilford's shoulder and moved swiftly past an overturned couch, heading for the library.</p><p>"If there's anyone who would've left us a clue where they are or have seen this coming, its the Host," Dark said, throwing open the doors and dashing past bookshelves, ignoring the flickering lights.</p><p>The Host's desk was a mess. Wilford didn't know if it was a normal mess or a special mess. Blood and ink splatters stained the table. Papers and books were ripped. The equipment for the Host's radio show was overturned. Maybe. Wilford didn't know if the microphone was meant to be on its side. </p><p>Dark fished through the crumpled pages on the desk, almost tearing them up more from his fast movements. Wilford didn't understand was the rush was about. If they were gone, then they were gone. It wasn't like death was a real thing.</p><p>"Help me find clues," Dark ordered, but Wilford wasn't paying attention. He had noticed how something dripped from the underside of the desk. How on earth had the Host managed to get ink on all sides on his table? Truly Dark couldn't call Wilford the messiest person in the mansion anymore. He squatted down on his knees and peered at the underside of the table.</p><p>Messy letters in dark red ink dripped from under the table.</p><p>"How did the Host manage that?" Wilford asked, crinkling his nose.</p><p>"What?" The rustling on paper stopped.</p><p>"He made this red ink smell horrible." Wide-eyed, Dark dropped down to his knees beside Wilford with a thunk. He looked the at letters, cursed under his breath, and was gone in a flash, running back to the front door.</p><p>"Wilford! We're leaving!" He shouted. "Now!"</p><p>"Do we have time to pack?" Wilford asked.</p><p>"No time!"</p><p>Wilford glanced back at the letters. They were nearly unintelligible, likely from the Host's blindness. He wondered when the Host had written this, and why the ink hadn't dried. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to make out the letters.</p><p>A C T O R</p><p>Actor? Had Wilford or some other ego somehow angered the local thespians? </p><p>"Who are the actors?" He asked out loud, then jumped when Dark appeared next to him, grabbing Wilford's arm with bruising strength.</p><p>"Come on!" Dark barked, and teleported them away.</p><p>"Why couldn't the Host have left us some names?" Wilford demanded. Dark looked at him, disheveled but not in a good way.</p><p>"He did."</p><p>"Who's Actor?" Wilford asked, but Dark didn't reply.</p><p>"Dark, who's Actor?"</p><p>"An old enemy," Dark said, then dragged him forward. "Come on. I know a place we can go that he won't find us."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The romance, or the horror? The romance, or the horror? THE ROMANCE, OR THE HORROR?</p><p>God I think I'm so funny for using the movie titles from A Date With Markiplier, but also thus foreshadowing what will occur.</p><p>Dark be like "I know a spot" then takes you to a safehouse</p></blockquote></div></div>
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